Braces — just hearing the word conjures memories of awkward adolescent years many wish to forget.
In the past, the metal, the rubber bands, the tightening, the pain … braces were no fun then, and they are less appealing as an adult.
What if you find, though, while your bite is fine, you could stand a few tweaks to perfect your smile? What are your options? Traditional braces are typically recommended only if there are major changes required for a person's bite and oral hygiene, although there is no doubt they are a tried-and-true method of consistently delivering straight teeth and great smiles.
Thankfully, there is a new way to get results with a lower time commitment, for adults needing purely cosmetic changes to their smile. This six-month program is unique in that it takes the best, reliable and tested methods of traditional braces, and packages it into what is typically a six-month cosmetic solution plan that fits your lifestyle in terms of comfort, time and price.
"This adds to the concept’s already patient-friendly attributes of requiring no personal compliance on the patient’s part of adhering to schedules, as well as being both comfortable to wear and aesthetically pleasing," dentist Angie Nauman writes for Dentistry Today. "As a result, vanity issues associated with the appearance of metal braces are eliminated."
To get started, your dentist will consult with you and plan which teeth could use straightening. Once the cosmetic goal is set, you will get tooth colored brackets and wires to gently start the teeth aligning process. These braces are small and barely visible to those not looking closely — much different from the traditional metal braces and brightly colored bands of your teenage years.
Another great aspect of this program is the braces use low-force to move teeth gently. Straight teeth in six months may sound like a painful ordeal, due to the seemingly accelerated nature, but the intent is for the program to be a low-impact, gentle process focusing on cosmetics, not realigning your bite.
Additionally, rather than charging an exorbitant amount of money, compared to other smile-improving options like veneers, short-term braces typically cost less and require less maintenance.
"Because treatment expectations and outcomes are, and always should be, thoroughly discussed, patients can make informed decisions about cost versus benefit," Nauman says. "... By simply and effectively moving teeth into proportion to the patient’s face and stature, improvements to the overall symmetry of the smile can be made."
A Dentistry Today case study had positive results that demonstrated how much people's lives were enhanced with this procedure. The study found a patient's smile was much straighter in the short amount of time.
"While comprehensive orthodontics remains the gold standard for addressing problems involving a patient’s entire occlusal scheme, short-term orthodontics is a patient-friendly treatment option for resolving cosmetic-related concerns," according to dentistrytoday.com.
This option is available locally, with Haake Dental's Six Month Smiles program. With Saturday hours, simple financing options, two doctors and more than 10 staff members, Haake Dental is the destination cosmetic and family dental office in the greater Kansas City metro area.
